RET Site: for Sustainable Polymer Engineering Research

This three-year renewal RET Site for Sustainable Polymer Engineering Research is hosted by the University of Southern Mississippi. This research has direct impacts on key economic drivers in the State of Mississippi, notably agriculture, manufacturing, and marine/coastal activities, and high relevance to students and their families. Ten local community college instructors and high school teachers will engage in state-of-the-art polymer engineering research for a 6-week summer research experience. Working in pairs with polymer science and engineering faculty, participants will focus on fundamental research to address challenges of meeting global societal needs while also sustaining natural resources and environmental health. Teachers will develop research-based classroom activities for implementation in their schools. Teachers will be recruited from schools with populations representative of the state, to enhance impact on underserved populations. Participants will share the results of their research and curriculum development through journal publications, presentations at scientific and education conferences, an annual workshop at the Mississippi Science Teachers Association, publication in TeachEngineering, and the RET website. A week-long workshop for middle school teachers will be implemented to broaden the reach of the program to younger students. This three-year renewal RET Site for Sustainable Polymer Engineering Research is hosted by the University of Southern Mississippi. The RET Site will immerse high school and community college teachers in sustainable materials engineering research in state-of-the-art facilities. The research objectives are to develop sustainable approaches to materials development to meet critical societal needs. Ten teachers each year will be engaged in fundamental materials research efforts that span the complex, interdisciplinary facets of materials sustainability. Participants will gain knowledge and experience with using tools to assess the environmental impacts of new materials development. Research themes address important challenges in the state and region, including understanding the effects of plastic pollution in the Gulf of Mexico, synthesis of polymers from renewable feedstocks, design of materials for recyclability and degradability, and preparation of membranes for carbon capture and sequestration. RET participants will be directly involved in experiments, data collection, and analysis, and will have opportunities to present and publish their findings. Research based curricular modules and activities aligned with state and national standards will be developed, implemented in the classroom, and published for broad access. This project is jointly funded by the EEC REU and the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCOR). This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.